On Saturday, March 16, more than 140 volunteers gathered at Plimoth Patuxet with members of our leadership and staff to ready the historic sites for 2024's opening day on Saturday, March 23. It was a beautiful, sunny day. Some of our volunteers on site included members of the Museum's Board of Trustees who dug in the gardens and stacked wood alongside Boy Scouts; a college student who woke up at 4:30 a.m. to drive from Connecticut to join Plimoth Patuxet for the day; a Mayflower descendant who booked a hotel room in town just for the occasion; and many more ranging from age 18 months and beyond. At Plimoth Patuxet, we are ever grateful for their dedication and investment of time and elbow grease.

In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, volunteer time is valued at $39.19 per hour. Using this calculation, the value of volunteer assistance at 2024's Museum Clean Up Day is over $25,000!

Over the years, Museum Clean Up Day has become a wonderful Plimoth Patuxet tradition full of community and camaraderie as volunteers of all ages team-up with staff and leadership. This year's projects included painting in the Craft Center, working in the gardens of the Historic Patuxet Homesite and English Village, helping with the construction of the palisade around the Fort/Meetinghouse, cleaning Plimoth Cinema's theaters and Visitor's Center lobby, raking up leaves and ensuring the front entrance of the Museum was ready to greet visitors, and much more.

After working throughout the morning, volunteers were invited to join the Museum's team in Gainsborough Hall for a hot lunch, cool drinks, table-top fun for the kids, and music. Lunch also included a special Museum Clean Up Day raffle with prizes for all ages to take home as souvenirs of their impactful day at the Museum. Following lunch, many volunteers went back out to the historic sites for more work and fun in the afternoon sunshine.

Highlights of the day for Plimoth Patuxet's staff include:

"At one point we all started to sing along to the song in the Craft Center!"

"The young children helping me in the Patuxet Homesite garden, they had a sincere interest in the kind of work we were doing and how it was helpful to the Museum."

"The volunteers were helping rake out the front path and I was talking with one of them about the proper cutting technique, and they said to me, 'this is so cool, we are helping but also learning,'"

Thank you to the volunteers who joined us in 2024 or years past! Together we create community through living history while stewarding a dynamic destination for tourism in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Plymouth. If you would like to join Plimoth Patuxet for future volunteer days and projects please email volunteers@plimoth.org—we'd love to hear from you.